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Includes generally very good stories from a number of my favorite science fiction authors, including John Barnes' "The Ocean is a Snowflake...", Ian McDonald's "Vertandhi's Ring", Ted Chiang's "The Alchemist and the Merchant's Gate" (I am starting to believe that Chiang is the reincarnation of Jorge Luis Borges), Neal Asher's "Alien Archeology", Greg Egan's "Steve Fever", and Nancy Kress's "Laws of Survival"; I have a slight pet peeve about the stories that are obviously pieces of novels in progress (like the other Greg Egan story, "Glory"); I was surprised that I didn't like the Ken Macleod, Brian Stableford, Stephen Baxter, or Robert Silverberg stories, and wasn't sufficiently interested in the Kage Baker or Bruce Sterling stories to finish them. Oh well: there's always next year. ( )

Big collection of sf short stories published in 2007, of which I had read very few - the five Hugo nominees (of which I remembered only three, Ted Chiang's "The Merchant and the Alchemist's Gate", Stephen Baxter's "Last Contact" and Elizabeth Bear's "Tideline"). Several stories new to me that particularly grabbed me: "An Ocean Is a Snowflake, Four Billion Miles Away" by John Barnes; "Sea Change", by Una McCormack; "Against the Current", by Robert Silverberg; "Of Love and Other Monsters", by Vandana Singh; "The Mists of Time", by Tom Purdom; and "The Prophet of Flores", by Ted Kosmatka. No turkeys; as usual a good collection. ( )

As much as I respect Sheila Williams (and I do), I have to admit that my tastes in science fiction seem to be much closer to those of Gardner Dozois, which is why it's probably unsurprising that I tend to very much enjoy these annual collections.

There are many great stories in here, but the two that have stuck with me the longest are probably "Nothing Personal" by Pat Cadigan and "Craters" by Kristine Kathryn Rusch. The second one is probably a more powerful story, but there's something about Cadigan's writing that means that I never seem to forget her work. Even if you can't read the whole collection, those two are definitely worth checking out if you can. ( )

Another strong collection in the series, although a lot of the best stories were at the start of the book and it becomes a little more mixed thereafter. Some of my favorite stories are the McDonald, the MacLeod, the Kosmatka and the Sterling.

"Finisterra" - David Moles 4/5 Poachers are killing multi-kilometer long animals floating in the atmosphere of a gas giant. Good concept and exciting."Lighting Out" - Ken MacLeod 4.5/5 A young woman tries to gain independence from her mother while avoiding a "fast-burn" singularity. Fun singularity stuff, although there is not much really new."An Ocean Is a Snowflake, Four Billion Miles Away" - John Barnes 4/5 A filmmaker captures the orbital insertion of a comet that will terraform Mars."Saving Tiamaat" - Gwyneth Jones 4/5 A diplomat faces hard choices while representing one faction of a species that has destroyed its homeworld. Interesting ideas on the limits of politics."Of Late I Dreamt of Venus" - James Van Pelt 4/5 The founder of a Venus terraforming project tries to oversee its very long duration. Nicely meshes the founder's personality with the project as a whole."Verthandi's Ring" - Ian MacDonald 5/5 Two huge galactic cultures fight a war of extermination. Great space opera with a lot of ideas in a fairly short story."Sea Change" - UnaMcCormack 3/5In a restrictive, heavily class-divided future Britain, a teenage girl has to deal with the bad influence of the friend she is living with. Not bad, but didn't excite me. "The Sky Is Large and the Earth Is Small" - Chris Roberson 3/5In an alternate history, an old prisoner in the dominant Chinese empire is questioned about his time among the Mexica."Glory" - Greg Egan 3.5/5Representatives from a galactic civilization are sent to a more primitive world to study the mathematical theorems of a vanished race. Has some interesting concepts."Against the Current" - Robert Silverberg 4/5A man starts moving backwards through time at a rate of a couple of decades per day. Nice concept and an enjoyable story."Alien Archaeology" - Neal Asher 3/5"The Merchant and the Alchemist's Gate" - Ted Chiang 4/5Stories of people in Middle Ages Baghdad who use a gate that can move them 20 years forward or backward in time. A very interesting handling of a number of time travel paradox situations."Beyond the Wall" - Justin Stanchfield 3.5/5An alien artifact on Titan causes space-time distortions. Interesting."Kiosk" - Bruce Sterling 4/5A street vendor's use of a nanotech fabricator leads to an economic revolution. A funny, somewhat satirical view of how change happens."Last Contact" - Steven Baxter 3.5/5A mother and daughter spend time together as a space-time anomaly threatens the Earth. A different take on the end of the world."The Sledge-Maker's Daughter" - Alastair Reynolds 3/5A girl on an Earth suffering from a new ice age gains some high technology. Didn't seem like anything new."Sanjeev and Robotwallah" - Ian McDonald 3.5/5A street urchin becomes a helper to the handlers of robot soldiers. Minor story with an interesting setting."The Skysailor's Tale" - Michael Swanwick 3/5A boy runs away from home and sails across timelines on a flying ship from an alternate British Empire."Of Love and Other Monsters" - Vandana Singh 4/5An alien with the ability to manipulate human minds comes to terms with his existence on Earth. Main character is interesting in all the internal conflicts he has to deal with."Steve Fever" - Greg Egan 4/5Nanotech bots infect the world in an attempt to resurrect their creator, Steve. A fun twist on the out-of-control nanotech story."Hellfire at Twilight" - Kage Baker 3/5A Company operative looks for an ancient Greek scroll at an 18th century English estate. Average Company story."The Immortals of Atlantis" - Brian Stableford 3/5An ancient race's DNA is hidden inside the mitochondria of modern humans.Interesting concept."Nothing Personal" - Pat Cadigan 3/5A policewoman investigates a crime with suspects who seem to appear in the world with no previous history."Tideline" - Elizabeth Bear 4/5An AI war machine tries to memorialize it's dead platoon. A very good, moving story."The Accord" - Keith Brooke 3/5Agents of the controlling anomaly in a VR afterlife chase an anomaly that threatens its existence. Very Matrix-like."Laws of Survival" - Nancy Kress 3.5/5A woman in post-nuclear America is kidnapped by aliens to serve as a dog trainer. "The Mists of Time" - Tom Purdom 3/5Time travelers watch a British raid against slave traders. Didn't really get the point of this one."Craters" - Kristine Kathryn Rusch 3.5/5Terrorists find a nasty new way to send bombs through security."The Prophet of Flores" - Ted Kosmatka 4/5Archeology in a world where intelligent design is scientific fact."Stray" - Benjamin Rosenbauam and David Ackert 3/5A powerful immortal being tries to live in the regular world."Roxie" - Robert Reed 3/5The life of a dog and the end of the world."Dark Heaven" - Gregory Benford 3.5/5A detective investigates murders that seem to be tied to an alien embassy. Good, but I could pretty much see where it was going. ( )